Item Description
Original Item: One Only. Invented by Warren R. Evans of Thomaston, Maine production started in 1873 by "Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company of Mechanic Falls, Maine." Only 15,000 Evans firearms were manufactured in a six year period and then the company declared bankruptcy in 1879, a victim of the Post Civil War arms industry glut and stiff competition.
The amazing thing about the Evans system was the THIRTY FOUR round tubular magazine housed in the butt. If the Spencer was said to be the carbine you loaded on Sunday and shot all week, the Evans you could shoot for a whole month! It worked on the Archimedean screw theory of four separate ammunition channels, which revolved each time the lever was activate and the gun reloaded. It appeared it was a certainty for Military approval but the system was non accepted based on interference from accumulated dust. The original caliber was .44" and the cartridges were were approximately one inch long, referred to as ".44 Evans short."
Several models were produced, known to collectors as the "Old Model", the "Transitional Model," and the "New Model". The old model had no lower stock on the butt, which made the rifle difficult to hold and aim. The transitional model introduced a butt stock and new butt plate. Requests for a more powerful cartridge led to the development of the "New Model", which fired a longer .44" cartridge called the ".44 New Model", which was 1 1/2 inches long. Due to the longer cartridge, the magazine capacity was reduced from 34 to 28 rounds. A dust cover for the ejection port was also introduced, to avoid dirt getting into the magazine.
The majority of Evans repeaters produced were of the "New Model", and around 3000 were produced in the "Military Musket" configuration, which had a 30 inch round barrel and full fore end retained by barrel bands. Many of these were later converted to the "Sporting Rifle" configuration, and this is one such example. Original produced Evans "Sporting Rifles" have octagonal barrels, not round barrels.
The barrel on this example is marked:
EVANS REPEATING RIFLE. MECHANIC FALLS ME. PAT. DEC.8,1868 & SEPT.16,1871
This rifle is in nice condition, and has been fully cleaned and restored. The action functions, and you can see the rotating magazine through the ejection port. The bore is somewhat worn with a dull finish, but lands and grooves are visible with no bulges or major damage. The metalwork is good, with just some small traces of pitting. The stocks are in good condition, with some of the checkering still present on the foregrip. The butt stock has some old repairs, but is solid and looks great.
- This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey
This product is available for international shipping.
Note: This gun is NOT considered obsolete calibre, so we are no able to ship to the United Kingdom.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to posses, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
These antique guns are not sold in live condition. They are sold as collector’s items or as wall hangers. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.
Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
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